A sharp-eyed Richmond police officer late Saturday spotted the candy-apple red Dodge Charger that had been carjacked at gunpoint earlier that day from state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata.

The 2006 state-issued car – which wasn’t equipped with a tracking device – was found sitting in a residential area at Wiswall and Colette drives, near Richmond’s Hilltop Mall, at 11:11 p.m. Saturday.

Perata’s cell phone and other property were still in the car, which was in good condition, Richmond police Lt. Michael Booker said.

“The officer was patrolling the area and thought it was kind of odd for a state car to be sitting there unoccupied,” Booker said. “He ran” the license plate “and it came back stolen.” Officers canvassed the neighborhood for possible suspects but found no one.

The 62-year-old Oakland Democrat was stopped at a red light at 51st Street and Shattuck Avenue – about to get on the freeway – when an armed man tapped on his window about 1:45 p.m., police said.

Perata – who was unharmed in the incident – was on his way to deliver a holiday gift to Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente when he was carjacked. Police did not know whether the gift was still in the car when it was found.

Police said the carjacker may have targeted the car because of its 22-inch rims. The rims were on the car when it was found, police said.

No one had been arrested in connection with the crime late Sunday. Richmond police are working in conjunction with Oakland police to lift fingerprints and other evidence from the car, Booker said.

Perata spokeswoman Alicia Trost said the senator is waiting for more information from the police to determine what, if anything, might be missing from his car.

During the past year, Perata has worked to fight crime in Oakland by creating a program to saturate crime hot spots with outreach workers and counselors to work with police.

Police said they believe Saturday’s carjacking was the first time a state elected official had been the victim of a violent crime in Oakland.

Harry Harris is a Pulitzer Prize winning breaking news reporter for the Bay Area News Group. He began his Oakland Tribune career in September 1965 as a 17-year-old copyboy. He became a reporter in 1972 and is considered one of the best crime and breaking news reporters in the country. He has covered tens of thousands of murders and other crimes in the East Bay. He has also mentored dozens of young reporters, some of whom continue to work in journalism today.

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